China's Belt and Road Initiative

A Story of Assessment and Strategic Adaptation

On May 7, 2019, Nadège Rolland, Senior Fellow for Political and Security Affairs at NBR, delivered the inaugural lecture “China’s Belt and Road Initiative: A Story of Assessment and Strategic Adaptation” for the speaker series China in the World: 21st Century Challenges. The event was co-sponsored by the Institute of World Politics, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and the Movement for the Renaissance of Vietnam.

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About the Lecture

Almost six years after its launch, the Belt and Road Initiative, labeled by Xi Jinping as the “Project of the Century,” seems to have reached its culminating point of success. A mounting wave of resistance against the BRI can be felt both within and outside of China. Are these signs that the BRI is grinding to a halt? How is the Chinese leadership reacting to the gathering headwinds facing BRI? What does BRI tell us about the Chinese leadership’s capacity to assess, adjust, and adapt?

About the Speaker

Nadège Rolland is Senior Fellow for Political and Security Affairs at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), based in Seattle and Washington, D.C. Her research focuses mainly on China’s foreign and defense policy and the changes in regional dynamics across Eurasia resulting from the rise of China. Drawing on her 20 years of experience as a French government official, she also examines the prospects for transatlantic cooperation in research and policy related to Asia. She is the author of China’s Eurasian Century? Political and Strategic Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative, published in 2017.